"The Prostitute's Song" in A Cup of Sin

"The Prostitute's Song" in A Cup of Sin 

Pass me the rouge,

so I can add some color to my colorlessness.

Pass me the ointment,

so I may revive my face withered from sorrow.

Pass me the perfume,

to give my flowing hair the scent of musk.

Pass me that tight fitting dress,

so people may hold me tighter in their embrace.

Pass me that see-through shawl,

to make my nakedness twice as enticing in its folds,

to add to the allure of my breasts

and legs.

Pass me that cup of wine,

so I may laugh at my misfortunes in my drunkenness,

so I may mask my sorrows

with a gay and appealing face.

How tiresome he was, how repulsive,

my companion last night.

But when he asked me, I told him,

I had never seen a man as handsome.

And that partner of a few nights past,

the one who gave me the disease,

even if he paid me a hundred times more,

it would not pay for the pain he gave me.

I know many people, yet I have no one,

no one to stand by me, share my sorrows.

Many make displays of affection,

but they never last beyond the instant.

I have no husband or mate

to grant me their loyalty and devotion,

nor a child to wipe the rust

of sorrows from my heart.

Oh, who is it knocking at the door?

It is my husband for the night.

O sorrows, let go of my heart.

Now we must make him happy.

Lips, lips, cunning lips,

draw a veil of mystery on my sorrows,

so they will give me a few more coins.

Smile, kiss, enchant!

-Simin Behbahani